Vengeance
by LoveDragonsForever
Summary: The final battle against Aizen went horribly wrong... Karakura Town was completely destroyed but for some reason Aizen did not make the King's Key. Ichigo goes to Sunnydale, California, to stop Aizen there. Buffy and her friends get pulled into the war as Ichigo tries to stop Aizen from making the King's Key in Sunnydale.
1. Prologue

A/N Hope you like this. Short chapter, but I promise that the next one will be longer. R&R!

"I failed them..." Ichigo whispered for the thousandth time since his defeat. He had been unable to defeat Aizen... and this is what it cost him. His entire town, left in flaming ruins. His entire town, dead. His entire town, gone forever.

Tears ran down his face as he recalled his friends' death... As he saw Aizen's smirking face as Aizen left through a Garganta... Ichigo's hands curled into fists. _Whatever it takes, I will kill the bastard. _His mind recalled Inoue's death. How she lay dying in his arms, confessing her love for him. He remembered how Rukia had gotten impaled by Aizen's sword... How Chad got stabbed by Ichimaru... Their deaths were to many to mention.

All because I failed them. If I had beaten Aizen... if only I could have killed him. But even Ichigo's immense power was not enough to kill Aizen. And Aizen was gone now. Gone back to Las Noches.

Ichigo wondered how he could go after Aizen. Urahara was dead, and he did not know how to make a Garganta. Perhaps he should seek help? He wondered of rumors of a Slayer in California. He had also heard that another plot of spirit-rich land was there. That might well be Aizen's next target.

And if this Slayer was there, then that was double the reason to go there. Ichigo stood up.

He wore his kimono, and had Zangetsu wrapped in bandages by his side. He stared out at the wreckage of Karakura Town one last time... and felt despair once more. How can I be strong enough to beat Aizen? I already failed once... _And I will not fail again! _

All he knew was that Aizen had not made the King's key. Who knew why? Perhaps it was because there were not enough souls left alive in the desolate place. Perhaps it was because the town itself was destroyed when Aizen got to it. Who knew? All he cared about was that this gave him another chance.

Ichigo's eyes blazed with a desire for vengeance. His heart sought it. His limbs trembled with desire to take it. Aizen would strike at another spirit-rich mile of land soon... and Ichigo was pretty sure it would be at this town.

Sunnydale, California.


	2. Introductions

A/N This story takes place shortly after the end of Season 1. Spike and Drusilla have moved into town, but Buffy has not fought against either of them... yet.

It was a cloudless night. The crescent moon shone down upon the night struggles of a blond girl. It also shone down on her opponents, two men and a woman. The only sounds that could be heard was their heavy breathing and the striking of their limbs.

The blond's opponents were horribly disfigured. They had jutting brows and sharp canines. They also had yellow eyes. Anyone looking at them would have called them monsters. The girl _knew _they were monsters.

One of the men exploded into dust. Buffy panted, facing off against the other two vampires. They rushed her, and Buffy tripped one, and dodged the other. She twisted and struck one through the heart with her stake. The other one fled, scared of the Slayer.

Buffy let her go. She was still panting from the exertion, and a run through the graveyard in the dark was, while not being the best way to hurt herself, still high up on the list. And the vampire might ambush her.

So Buffy resumed her patrol. She carried her stake loosely in her hand, and her eyes scanned the surrounding bushes, alert. So when she heard a quiet thump from the other side of the graveyard, she went to investigate.

There was nothing there. Nothing that could have made the thump. Buffy glanced around, then shrugged. She did not see the man in black robes who, for the moment, hid from her. Of course, very few people could have seen him anyway.

Buffy headed home, and Ichigo came out of his hiding spot, and glanced around. So this was Sunnydale. He wondered if he would be able to get a gigai somewhere. His mortal body had been destroyed. Some Arrancar had found it during Aizen's attack.

Ichigo figured that he would need a gigai to approach the Slayer. He should find out what school she went to... that would be the easiest way to approach her. Then he would be able to get her help. He did need help. Aizen had beaten him before. But together... together they would slay that monster.

Ichigo smiled slightly, the first time he had smiled since Karakura Town had been destroyed. Time to get started.

Ichigo walked down the hallways of Sunnydale High. It felt weird to be back in school. He held his schedule in his hand, and glanced down at it, counting the classroom numbers. He ignored the remarks in the hallway. It was only natural that they would talk about him, after all he _did _have orange hair.

That fact had caused him to be bullied a lot back in Karakura Town. Ichigo wondered if he would be bullied here. He probably would. High schools were all the same.

Ichigo wondered how to find the Slayer. He'd done some research and found that the local Hellmouth opened below the school library. It was only logical that the Slayer would be here. However, Ichigo had no idea what she looked like, or even if she did in fact go to school here.

Ichigo made up his mind and decided to go find the library later. He had heard some rumors that the current Watcher was the librarian. But then he had heard rumors that the Watcher was an eccentric old man who lived out in the middle of nowhere. Rumors weren't exactly the most reliable source of information. Still, though, they were worth investigating.

Ichigo headed down to the library after school. He was surprised to see some other students there. He recognized two as people he'd met earlier, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg. He also saw the blond girl who had nearly spotted him last night.

The others were unfamiliar. As he headed towards the older man who was probably the librarian, he noticed a book on demons on the table in front of the guy. It had a crudely drawn picture of a Hollow on the front. So perhaps the librarian was the Watcher after all.

Buffy glanced up as the unfamiliar kid entered the library. He was probably new here, he was looking around like he'd never been in the library before. He had spiky orange hair and brown eyes. He walked over to Giles. "I'm new here, and I was told that I could get the textbooks from you..." His voice trailed off uncertainly.

"Oh, yes, of course," Giles murmured. He discreetly covered the book in front of him, which was about various demons. He got up, and led the kid into the back of the library. Moments later, they emerged and the kid was carrying a bunch of textbooks. He nodded to Giles, and left the library.

Buffy had a strange feeling about him. Something was... not quite right. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, though, and returned to the discussion she and the others were having on a particular demon.

Ichigo dropped the textbooks in his locker, then left. That group... he wondered if in fact that was the Slayer's gang that he had stumbled upon. It was very likely, the librarian, Giles, had had a book on demons in front of him, after all. And the blond girl had some very strange reiatsu.

Strange reiatsu, strange activity at night... she was almost certainly the Slayer. Ichigo wondered if he should ask her plainly for help. It was supposed to be Parent-Teacher Night tonight at Sunnydale... Ichigo should probably show so that way the principal, whatever his name was, wouldn't get suspicious. Also it would probably be a good time to meet the Slayer, and get to know her.

_**Parent-Teacher Night**_

Of course, Ichigo was fool enough to try the lemonade... wasn't lemonade supposed to have sugar in it? Apparently Willow had forgotten to add it in. Ichigo managed to drink it anyway, to avoid offending Willow. He also learned that the blond's name was Buffy. And that the principal didn't like her much.

Apparently she was considered something of a delinquent. Ichigo wondered if that was because she was a Slayer. Probably the gym-burning incident was because there were vampires or demons inside. And maybe the vampires or demons had started the fire, and she just got blamed for it.

Buffy returned the sentiment. She had warned Ichigo that Ichigo would probably be pressured into activities by the principal. Luckily, Ichigo had escaped having to help set up for Parent-Teacher Night. But he didn't trust the principal not to give him other activities.

So Ichigo stayed out of Snyder's way. He hoped that Snyder wouldn't notice that Ichigo had no parents there... that would be very bad. He didn't want people to think that he was a runaway... though, of course, Ichigo could always hide if need be. It was just easier to talk to the Slayer through school. Much less pain and grief.

So Ichigo made small talk, learned stuff about Buffy and her friends, learned that for some reason they had named their group "The Scoobies". Perhaps it was an American reference. And then the vampires arrived.

Ichigo immediately wanted to get out of his gigai... but he didn't, because there were probably spirit-aware people in the crowd. They would see him. And the Slayer could probably see spirits as well. And if she couldn't... well, then she'd be no help to Ichigo anyway.

So Ichigo followed the other parents, and went into an abandoned classroom. He glanced at Buffy, and then said quietly, so that way only she could hear "How can I help?" Buffy heard him, and glanced at him quickly. She wondered briefly if he knew what was really going on, but, no, that had to be impossible. Still, though, she could use his help.

"Come with me. We're going to move through the roof," she said curtly. "Do what I say." She added, more quietly "I've fought them before."

Ichigo smirked slightly. "Very well, lead on." Snyder tried to open the window, and that ended up with him very nearly getting killed. The roof option was definitely the better way to go. And Buffy had fought vampires before, while Ichigo had only heard about them. He trusted Buffy's greater experience.

The two teens climbed up into the roofing system, and soon they were looking down on the vampires that were trying to get into the classroom. A tall vampire with bleached hair seemed to be in charge. Buffy heard a sharp intake of breath, and glanced at Ichigo.

Ichigo's eyes were wide, and he looked startled. "So he _does _exist..." he murmured to himself. He shook his head, and then asked Buffy, very quietly, "So, what do we do?"

"Take this," Buffy replied, giving him a stake. Ichigo glanced at the weapon, wondering what he was supposed to do with it. Then he remembered that Sandal-Hat had mentioned in passing that if he ever encountered a vampire "stab it through the heart with something sharp. A pencil will work just as well as a Zanpakuto." Ichigo nodded, and took the weapon.

"I'll take out the small fry, you worry about the vamp in the middle," he said calmly. Then he dropped out of the roof, and staked the nearest vampire through the heart. It screeched, and disappeared into dust. Much like a hollow that way, although hollows took a bit longer to disappear.

"Well, well, well..." the head blood-sucker murmured. "I guess that there _were _rats after all." Buffy fell out, and started fighting him. Ichigo ran away, leading the rest of the vampires after him. It would be best to give the Slayer some fighting space.

He stopped in the middle of a hall some distance away. The hallway was big enough for Ichigo to maneuver. He would be able to fight them effectively here.

"So, which one of you wants to get staked next?" Ichigo asked boldly. A female vampire rushed him, and the other two followed suit. Ichigo kicked the first one in the chest, and dodged the other two attacks. He twisted, and with a sweep of his legs knocked one over. Twisting, he staked the third vampire.

The other two got up, and approached him more warily. They spread out, and lunged forwards, attacking form both sides. Ichigo rolled out of the way and they rushed after him. Ichigo regained his feet and punched one in the face, sending it smashing against the wall. He caught the other one's strike with his foot, then slashed forwards with the stake. The vampire dodged, so the stake stuck in its abdomen instead of its heart.

Ichigo looked around desperately for another weapon, and saw an abandoned pencil on the ground. He picked it up, and staked the vampire behind him. The pencil worked and it dissolved into dust. The remaining one, the one that had a stake sticking out of its abdomen attacked. Ichigo dodged out of the way, and tried to trip the vampire as it went past. The vampire fell, and Ichigo staked it while it lay on the ground.

Ichigo got up, panting, and headed back to where Buffy was fighting the boss. He saw that a woman was in front of Buffy, wielding an ax. Probably Buffy's mother. The vampire was nowhere to be seen./

"Are you alright?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, thanks to my mom," Buffy replied. She appeared shaken. "Are you okay? You had three chasing you."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I managed to get away, then circled back here." Buffy nodded slightly. She got the message. She knew that Ichigo had killed them. Buffy's mom, however, did not need to know that. She probably thought that the vampires were people on drugs, or something.

Ichigo knew that Buffy probably had a lot of questions to ask him. Now, however, was not the time. "I'll come by sometime," he said. He figured that there would be a way to get into Buffy's room later at night.

"You should," Buffy replied. She headed off with her mom, and Ichigo went off in search of a place to spend the night.

_**In Buffy's room**_

Ichigo dropped in through the window. It was an easy climb. Ichigo suspected that Buffy had gotten out of her house this way out multiple times during the night. "Hey," he said as a way of greeting.

"Hey. You came," Buffy said.

"Of course I did," Ichigo replied.

"So you know about the whole Slayer gig, then?"

"Sort of," Ichigo replied. "I only know what I've heard from Sandal-Hat. And from rumors. It's surprising how talkative people become during a drinking party."

"Sandal-Hat?" Buffy asked.

A flash of pain crossed Ichigo's face. "Yeah... He's dead now. His real name was Urahara Kisuke."

"How'd he die?"

Ichigo grimaced. Buffy quickly added "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. He died protecting my hometown. He and everyone else."

"From what?"

"From Aizen," Ichigo replied curtly. Buffy wanted to ask him more questions, but she didn't think now was the time. Ichigo got up at last, and left back through the window.

Buffy stayed up that night, wondering who he was.

Ichigo found a nice spot in the woods to stay. He felt his heart grow cold with the horror of it all over again... Buffy had meant well. But she didn't know how much her questions hurt. How much pain that he had ignored only to have it burst out again.

When Ichigo finally fell asleep that night, his dreams were not peaceful.

A/N If I misspelled any names, please tell me.


	3. Hollows, Arrancar, and Shinigami

A/N Here is the next chapter. Please review._  
_

_**Sunnydale High**_

Ichigo glanced up sharply. "What's wrong?" Willow asked.

Ichigo shook his head, confused. The feeling had already vanished. But that didn't mean that it had never existed. "Nothing. Just thought I sensed something. I guess I'm just paranoid." Ichigo was still frowning, though._Had _that in fact been an Arrancar's reiatsu he had sensed? Was Aizen making his move on Sunnydale already?

It was quite possible that he was. Ichigo and his friends had managed to kill quite a few of Aizen's Espada and Arrancar. But then Sunnydale had virtually no defenses.

Ichigo sighed, doing his best to dispel such worries. But a face burned on in his mind's eye. _Aizen. I will kill you, I swear it._

_**After School**_

Ichigo shouldered his bag and was about to head back to his base of operations, the forest, when he heard a Hollow's roar. "Pesky little things," he muttered. Buffy looked around. She had heard the roar as well, and it didn't sound like any demon she'd encountered.

"What was that?" she asked.

"So you heard it? That's good... It's a very annoying creature that will shortly be dead. I will return shortly."

"Wait!" Buffy yelled after Ichigo. The teen ignored her, and went off searching for a suitable place to stash his gigai.

Several minutes later, Ichigo returned. "Don't worry, it's dead," he told Buffy.

"_What's _dead?" Buffy asked.

"The Hollow," Ichigo replied.

"Okay... You mean like a tree hollow? If that's the case, then why did you need to kill it?"

Ichigo mentally facepalmed. "No, _not _a tree hollow, a Hollow. An, um, evil spirit. Although they're really more than that..."

Buffy stared at him for a long second, before heading off to her mom's car. Ichigo sighed. Perhaps she wouldn't be helpful after all...

_**After school the next day**_

Ichigo's eyes widened with shock. "Already?" he murmured. "That was quick." Ichigo sighed, and prepared for a fight.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"I have to go." Ichigo hesitated for a moment. "Come with me if you want."

Buffy hesitated, then nodded. She felt as if she was about to learn more about Ichigo's origins. Ichigo sighed, muttering "I wish I still had Kon."

The two teens headed down to the forest as quickly as they could. Luckily, it was nearby. Buffy was shocked to see Ichigo rise out of his body. The teen now wore black robes, and had a giant thing covered in bandages on his back. His hair was a little longer, too.

"What are you?" Buffy asked.

Ichigo hesitated. "You know, I don't know anymore," he said simply. Then he grabbed Buffy's hand, and Shunpoed up into the sky. He created a little platform underneath Buffy. "Stay here," he ordered curtly. "I'll return after killing that dratted panther." And he was gone.

Ichigo reappeared opposite from Grimmjow. The Arrancar was wearing his normal clothes, and he grinned viciously. "So you did show," he said. "I'm _so _glad. Now I can finally kill you."

Ichigo glared back. "Do you remember what happened our last meeting? I nearly killed you."

"That was Nnoitra's fault. Now no one will be able to stop this fight."

Ichigo grinned menacingly. "Bring it on, kitty."

Grimmjow roared in rage, and lunged forwards. Ichigo dodged his initial attack, and launched an attack of his own.

_**Buffy's POV**_

Buffy stared up at where Ichigo and the other weird guy were fighting. If she hadn't been so focused on the fight, she might have been more worried about the fact that there was really nothing keeping her airborne... which was pretty freaky, if you thought about it. Good thing that she didn't think about it.

Much.

Anyway, all she could see of the fight above was sparks from the swords. They were so darned _fast. _Like lightning. Actually faster than lightning. A lot faster.

All she could really see of the fighters were sparks. Lots of sparks. She glanced u again to see both of them paused. Ichigo was panting hard, but he was unwounded. His opponent was also unwounded.

"BANKAI! Tensa Zangetsu," Ichigo said. Black flames with red edges surrounded him. They died away, and revealed him in a cloak with three layers. The outermost one was black, then white, then red. His sword now resembled a Japanese _datio, _with a black chain on the end.

"Finally. And here I was thinking that you would never show me any power, Shinigami," Ichigo's opponent said.

"Are you going to release?" Ichigo asked innocently.

"No, I don't need to for trash like you!" The guy lunged forwards again, and they disappeared in clashes of sparks. This was looking to be a long battle.

_**Ichigo's POV**_

Ichigo backed off, panting slightly. Despite not releasing his sword yet, Grimmjow was still a formidable opponent. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Grimmjow decided to stop being so obstinate, and release his sword.

"Grind, Pantera!" Grimmjow was surrounded briefly by his reiatsu. When the flames disappeared, he looked somewhat like a panther. Grimmjow lunged forwards, and Ichigo was kicked hard in the side before he could react. He plummeted down, but was able to regain his footing, and dodge Grimmjow's next blow.

Ichigo raised his hand over his face, ready to put on his mask. This fight had gone on long enough.

_**Grimmjow's POV**_

Grimmjow glared at the Shinigami in front of him. He would show him! He would show that upstart Shinigami exactly why he shouldn't look down on Grimmjow! Grimmjow snarled, and lunged forwards.

Ichigo put on his mask.

This made Grimmjow laugh. Finally the boy was showing his true power! It had certainly taken him long enough! Although, the mask was different. It had a vertical black stripe on each side.

Ichigo lunged forwards, and Grimmjow dodged his first attack—but never saw Ichigo's second. Grimmjow was thrown through the air, crashing into the ground, causing a large crater. The boy had gotten stronger since the last time Grimmjow had seen him. A lot stronger.

He narrowed his eyes, and dodged Ichigo's attack, nimbly leaping out of the way. Grimmjow kept his eyes on that flashing black blade of Ichigo's, and avoided his blows—for the most part.

Grimmjow saw an opening, and took it, his paw lashing forwards... and Ichigo caught it in his hand again. Grimmjow's eyes widened, but he wasn't too surprised. Ichigo had done this same thing in Hueco Mundo. But there was no way that Grimmjow was going to let Ichigo beat him! Ichigo had beaten Grimmjow's Desgarron before, but this time would be different! It was a fluke before, it _had _to be! There was no way that this... _Shinigami _could be stronger! No way at all!

Grimmjow raised his paws, and sent the blue claws of light arcing towards him. Ichigo caught all ten of the claws on Tensa Zangetsu, and was driven back by the force. Grimmjow smirked. He had Ichigo for sure this time. Grimmjow charged up a cero, and shot it down after Ichigo as well. Maybe he could dodged one... but not both. He was dead meat.

Unfortunately for him, Grimmjow was wrong. Ichigo was by no means done for yet. He came racing up out of the resulting cloud of dust. The unfortunate Arrancar raised his arm just in time to deflect the Shinigami's blow. He drove Grimmjow back mercilessly. The Arrancar's eyes widened. How could Ichigo be so _strong? _How was it possible for a Shinigami to be this strong?

Grimmjow was flung down to the street again, creating another crater. Grimmjow shook my head, and stood up, however. He was not going to be defeated by that. He glanced up, and saw Ichigo darting down towards him, with his sword raised. If Ichigo's blade struck Grimmjow, then he really _would _die.

Grimmjow dodged, and kept dodging. It was all he could do. He could see no openings... and Ichigo's attacks were too strong and too fast for him to be able to do anything _but _dodge.

Grimmjow hated to do this... but it was obvious that he would lose if he stayed here. So he turned, and fled as quickly as he could. The Arrancar created a Garganta, and fled into it.

If it had closed a second later he would have been dead.

_Ichigo's POV_

Ichigo growled in frustration. He'd been so close. _So close! _Yet he had failed. That annoying panther had gotten away. Ichigo growled in disgust, and dispelled his mask. He descended down to Buffy, reverting to his Shikai, and placing Zangetsu on his back.

"W-who was that?" Buffy asked. The power that she had felt from the battle.. it was as if the mere _aura _was incredibly strong. How was that possible?

"Grimmjow. An old enemy of mine," Ichigo replied.

"Grimmjow? Was he a demon?"

The corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched. "People have called him that," he replied. "But he is not a demon like the ones you've fought."

"Well, of course not, but that's because demons are mostly unique. If he is a demon, then what kind is he?"

"He's not a demon, unless you think he's a demon of war," Ichigo replied seriously. "He's an Arrancar. The sixth Espada to be exact."

"What's an Espada?"

"One of the top ten strongest Arrancar. The person that I'm trying to kill, Aizen, is one of the heads of the Arrancar army."

"The word he called you, Shinigami, what is that?"

Ichigo sighed. "A Soul Reaper. Someone who guides the dead to Soul Society, and kills Hollows. I used to be one. Grimmjow is wrong when he calls me a Shinigami."

"Then what are you, then?"

Ichigo was silent. "We should get back. Your mom will be wondering where you are." Buffy noticed that he didn't answer her question. His eyes had grown dark, though, as if remembering something painful.

He picked her up, and ran back to the forest, where he lay down into the other him, the one that he had separated from.

It was getting dark. "I should go for patrol," she said. "It's getting dark."

Ichigo paused, then nodded. "I'll come with you," he said.

"You don't have to," she said quickly. She was going to meet Angel, and didn't really want Ichigo to be there.

"No really, I will. I want to see how strong these vampires are." He did not add in that he was hoping to find out if they were working for Aizen. Buffy wouldn't understand.

Buffy sighed. "Fine, then, come."

_**In the graveyard**_

Angel was waiting for them. He was sitting on top of a headstone, and slid off when he saw Buffy. "Hello," he said in a deep voice. Ichigo glanced at him warily. Something was off about the tall man, but Ichigo couldn't figure out what it was. It was sort of the feel he got when a Hollow was around, but it was different from that.

"Hi, Angel," Buffy said. Ichigo glanced at her. She sounded somewhat nervous. Ichigo understood, and moved off by himself.

"Ichigo, wait!" Buffy called after him.

"No, I understand. Besides, I'm more likely to find a vampire to fight if they don't see you with me. You're famous with the vampires, right? Since you're the Slayer. They won't be afraid of me." Ichigo was gone after that statement.

Ichigo scanned the graveyard, searching with his mind and his eyes. _There. _Vampires were over to the east, somewhat. Ichigo set off at a jog, but before he got there, they were gone. Ichigo sighed, frustrated.

Despite his best efforts, he found no vampires that night.

_**In Spike's room**_

A man with brown hair walked up to the head vampire. Beside him walked a silver-haired man with a fox's smile and a blind black guy. They had come with a proposal for Spike.

"Has no one heard of guards, people?" Spike called out, rather annoyed that these humans were able to get here so easily.

"Do not be mad at your men," the human in the center said smoothly. "They tried to stop us... tried... and failed."

Spike was about to lunged forwards, and kill the insolent human, when Drusilla came out of the shadows. "Wait, love. They might have something interesting," she said in a rather frail voice. Still, though, her voice was stronger than it had been for some time. Spike glanced at her, then nodded.

"What do you want?" he asked the three humans.

"We have come about a proposal," the one with silver hair spoke up. "It is very simple. We will help ya with your little problem, and ya help us wit' ours."

"Problem? What problem?" Spike asked.

"Oh, ya know what I'm talkin' about. The Slayer. We kill her, and in return ya help us out wit' our own problem."

"And what is your problem?"

"A certain orange-haired strawberry," he replied. "He is the only possible threat to us, ya see."

Spike's eyes narrowed. "Well... continue. This is starting to sound worthwhile." The vampire lord knew a good proposal when he heard one. Loath as he was to admit it, the Slayer was actually being quite a problem. If this person said her could get rid of the Slayer... well, it depended on what exactly they wanted in return, but no price was too high for removal of the Slayer.


End file.
